Information Technologies and International Development (ITID) has converted to open access, becoming the first OA journal from MIT Press. Not only is the current issue (Fall 2006) OA, but all past issues (back to Fall 2003) are now also OA. From the editorial by Michael L Best and Ernest J. Wilson III in the current issue :
With this issue we break with the past --and rush to meet the future-- as we introduce ITID now as an Open Access Journal. Under this method of publication all of our content will be available over the Internet at no cost. Print copies can still be obtained from the publisher on a fee basis. We believe this open access approach defines the future for academic publications and, critically, will serve well our global audience. Open access publication means:
Wider access for our readers --especially those coming from the Global South who might not have been able to afford the subscription prices.
Higher impact to our authors --research shows that open access journals have higher rates of readership, citation, and overall impact.
The same level of quality and prestige already associated with ITID....
An improved intellectual property environment --under open access publication we will move a Creative Commons copyright license....
A richer online environment for discussion, collaboration, scholarship, and community building! ITID is the first open access journal offered by the MIT Press and we intend to work closely with the Press to innovative with the model and help to define open access scholarly publications.
This inaugural open access year is made possible by the generous support of the Community Affairs division of Microsoft. We are looking to expand our set of donors and to enhance the open access business model.
We made the first public announcement of ITID becoming open access at the inaugural International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) held this May at the University of California, Berkeley....
Making high quality content freely available online to anyone interested in the intersection of communications technologies and development around the world is an exciting opportunity for the journal and The MIT Press. But where editors and the Press hope that lessons from this new model may truly have an impact is within the larger community - in academia, the private sector, NGOs, and governments around the world.
"We can't think of a better congruence between delivery platform and purpose," says MIT Press Director Ellen Faran. "ITID's content, mission, contributors, and readers will all be well supported by its free online availability."
PS: Congratulations to ITID and MIT Press. It's wonderful to see the MIT journals starting to catch up with MIT's many other pioneering OA initiatives. And thanks to Microsoft for taking this step to support OA. (Microsoft is a member of the Open Content Alliance.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/26/2006 09:49:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
